Confucius also known as Kong Qui or K’ung Fu-tzu was born on 28th September, 551 BC. He was an influential Chinese philosopher, teacher and political figure known for his popular aphorisms and for his models of social interaction. His teachings, preserved in the Analects, focused on creating ethical models of family and public interaction and setting educational standards.
The philosophy of Confucius, also known as Confucianism, emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice, kindness, and sincerity. His ideas have profoundly influenced the civilizations of China and other East Asian countries. He died on 11th April, 479 BC.
In this article, you will find a collection of Confucius quotes and sayings that reflect his moral beliefs and doctrine.
80 Confucius Quotes About Life, Knowledge & Relationships
“With coarse rice to eat, with water to drink, and my bended arm for a pillow – I have still joy in the midst of these things. Riches and honors acquired by unrighteousness are to me as a floating cloud.”– Confucius Quotes
“The perfecting of one’s self is the fundamental base of all progress and all moral development.” – Confucius Quotes
“If I am walking with two other men, each of them will serve as my teacher. I will pick out the good points of the one and imitate them, and the bad points of the other and correct them in myself.”– Confucius Quotes
“Education breeds confidence. Confidence breeds hope. Hope breeds peace.”– Confucius Quotes
“The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trial.”– Confucius Quotes
“Learn as though you would never be able to master it; hold it as though you would be in fear of losing it.”– Confucius Quotes
“The people may be made to follow a path of action, but they may not be made to understand it.”– Confucius Quotes
“Silence is the true friend that never betrays.”– Confucius Quotes
“The scholar who cherishes the love of comfort is not fit to be deemed a scholar.”– Confucius Quotes
“When we see men of a contrary character, we should turn inwards and examine ourselves.”– Confucius Quotes
“The faults of a superior person are like the sun and moon. They have their faults, and everyone sees them; they change and everyone looks up to them.”– Confucius Quotes
“I am not concerned that I am not known, I seek to be worthy to be known.”– Confucius Quotes
“When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don’t adjust the goals, adjust the action steps.” – Confucius Quotes
“Ignorance is the night of the mind, but a night without moon and star.”– Confucius Quotes
“The more man meditates upon good thoughts, the better will be his world and the world at large.”– Confucius Quotes
“To put the world in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must cultivate our personal life; and to cultivate our personal life, we must first set our hearts right.”– Confucius Quotes
“What the superior man seeks is in himself; what the small man seeks is in others.”– Confucius Quotes
“When you see a worthy person, endeavor to emulate him. When you see an unworthy person, then examine your inner self.”– Confucius Quotes
“Wealth and rank are what people desire, but unless they be obtained in the right way they may not be possessed.”– Confucius Quotes
“Faithfulness and sincerity are the highest things.” – Confucius Quotes
“Virtue is not left to stand alone. He who practices it will have neighbors.”– Confucius Quotes
“Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire.”– Confucius Quotes
“Act with kindness, but do not expect gratitude.”– Confucius Quotes
“A common man marvels at uncommon things. A wise man marvels at the commonplace.”– Confucius Quotes
“The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential… these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.”– Confucius Quotes
“A man who has committed a mistake and doesn’t correct it is committing another mistake.” – Confucius Quotes
“Acquire new knowledge whilst thinking over the old, and you may become a teacher of others.”– Confucius Quotes
“Think no vice so small that you may commit it, and no virtue so small that you may over look it.”– Confucius Quotes
“If you look into your own heart, you find nothing wrong there, what is there to fear?”– Confucius Quotes
“The wheel of fortune turns round incessantly, and who can say to himself, I shall today be uppermost.”– Confucius Quotes
“When a man’s knowledge is sufficient to attain, and his virtue is not sufficient to enable him to hold, whatever he may have gained, he will lose again.”– Confucius Quotes
“The firm, the enduring, the simple, and the modest are near to virtue.” – Confucius Quotes
“Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without.” – Confucius Quotes
“Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall.”– Confucius Quotes
“Do not use a cannon to kill a mosquito.” – Confucius Quotes
“To see what is right, and not to do it, is want of courage or of principle.”– Confucius Quotes
“They must change who would be constant in happiness and wisdom.”– Confucius Quotes
“A fool despises good counsel, but a wise man takes it to heart.”– Confucius Quotes
“The real fault is to have faults and not amend them.”– Confucius Quotes
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”– Confucius Quotes
“Humility is the solid foundation of all the virtues.”– Confucius Quotes
“The superior man is modest in his speech, but excels in his actions.” – Confucius Quotes
“Do not be desirous of having things done quickly. Do not look at small advantages. Desire to have things done quickly prevents their being done thoroughly.”– Confucius Quotes
“Without feelings of respect, what is there to distinguish men from beasts?”– Confucius Quotes
“He who speaks without modesty will find it difficult to make his words good.”– Confucius Quotes
“Virtue is more to man than either water or fire. I have seen men die from treading on water and fire, but I have never seen a man die from treading the course of virtue.”– Confucius Quotes
“Things that are done, it is needless to speak about…things that are past, it is needless to blame.”– Confucius Quotes
“If you think in terms of a year, plant a seed; if in terms of ten years, plant trees; if in terms of 100 years, teach the people.”– Confucius Quotes
“The essence of knowledge is, having it, to apply it not having it, to confess your ignorance.”– Confucius Quotes
“When anger rises, think of the consequences.”– Confucius Quotes
“To be wronged is nothing unless you continue to remember it.”– Confucius Quotes
“It does not matter how slowly you go, so long as you do not stop.”– Confucius Quotes
“He who will not economize will have to agonize.”– Confucius Quotes
“Without an acquaintance with the rules of propriety, it is impossible for the character to be established.”– Confucius Quotes
“It is better to light one small candle than to curse the darkness.”– Confucius Quotes
“I am not one who was born in the possession of knowledge; I am one who is fond of antiquity, and earnest in seeking it there.”– Confucius Quotes
“When you know a thing, to hold that you know it; and when you do not know a thing, to allow that you do not know it – this is knowledge.”– Confucius Quotes
“To be able to practice five things everywhere under heaven constitutes perfect virtue…They are gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness.”– Confucius Quotes
“The strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the home.”– Confucius Quotes
“Have no friends not equal to yourself.”– Confucius Quotes
“The father who does not teach his son his duties is equally guilty with the son who neglects them.”– Confucius Quotes
“Study the past if you would divine the future.”– Confucius Quotes
“Without knowing the force of words, it is impossible to know men.”– Confucius Quotes
“Review the old and deducing the new makes a teacher.”– Confucius Quotes
“To see and listen to the wicked is already the beginning of wickedness.”– Confucius Quotes
“A youth is to be regarded with respect. How do you know that his future will not be equal to our present?”– Confucius Quotes
“Do not worry about holding high position; worry rather about playing your proper role.”– Confucius Quotes
“There are three things to beware of through life: when a man is young, let him beware of his appetites; when he is middle-aged, of his passions; and when old, of covetousness, especially.”– Confucius Quotes
“If a man takes no thought about what is distant, he will find sorrow near at hand.”– Confucius Quotes
“We take greater pains to persuade others that we are happy than in endeavoring to think so ourselves.”– Confucius Quotes
“They must often change who would be constant in happiness or wisdom.”– Confucius Quotes
“Respect yourself and others will respect you.”– Confucius Quotes
“Mankind differs from the animals only by a little and most people throw that away.”– Confucius Quotes
“Success depends upon previous preparation, and without such preparation there is sure to be failure.” – Confucius Quotes
“He with whom neither slander that gradually soaks into the mind, nor statements that startle like a wound in the flesh, are successful may be called intelligent indeed.”– Confucius Quotes
“Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart.”– Confucius Quotes
“Study the past if you would define the future.”– Confucius Quotes
“A man who does not plan long ahead will find trouble right at his door.”– Confucius Quotes
“Looking at small advantages prevents great affairs from being accomplished.”– Confucius Quotes
“It is not possible for one to teach others who cannot teach his own family.”– Confucius Quotes
20 Short Confucius Quotes & Sayings
“Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance.”– Confucius Quotes
“Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.”– Confucius Quotes
“Be not ashamed of mistakes and thus make them crimes.”– Confucius Quotes
“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” – Confucius Quotes
“Forget injuries, never forget kindnesses.”– Confucius Quotes
“We should feel sorrow, but not sink under its oppression.”– Confucius Quotes
“Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without.”– Confucius Quotes
“To go beyond is as wrong as to fall short.”– Confucius Quotes
“When you have faults, do not fear to abandon them.”– Confucius Quotes
“It is only the wisest and the stupidest that cannot change.”– Confucius Quotes
“The object of the superior man is truth.”– Confucius Quotes
“The cautious seldom err.”– Confucius Quotes
“In a country well governed poverty is something to be ashamed of.”– Confucius Quotes
“To love a thing means wanting it to live.”– Confucius Quotes
“Recompense injury with justice, and recompense kindness with kindness.”– Confucius Quotes
“What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.” – Confucius Quotes
“He who excels in study can follow an official career.”– Confucius Quotes
“Isn’t it a pleasure to study and practice what you have learned?”– Confucius Quotes
“He that would perfect his work must first sharpen his tools.” – Confucius Quotes
“I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.”– Confucius Quotes